Saturday was the first day of my latest short breaks off work and I did intend to get up early and get out somewhere. I was rather tired and the early start failed to materialise. When I did get up I was fairly undecided where to go with only a Pectoral Sandpiper at Musselburgh relatively 'safe' to attempt. The 20 degree plus temperatures forecast however made the thought of a busy train journey both ways, then a bus journey and then a mile or so on foot rather unappealing. I eventually settled for a visit to Riverside Nature Park here in Dundee. My best ever day total here was 62 species on the 31st August 2014. (https://t.co/aGhixIlhUm?amp=1) I set myself a target of seeing 50 species which I figured should be achievable, though not necessarily easy, given the proximity to the end of August and similar birds likely to be around. It would mean taking my time and paying attention though.
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| Osprey |
I headed out around 0940 noting Woodpigeon, House Sparrow and Starling before I caught the bus into town where I added Lesser Black Backed Gull and Herring Gull in the City Centre. From the bus out to the park I was able to add Carrion Crow, House Martin and Magpie. I reached the park just before 1010 and decided to head for the Invergowrie end in the hope that the tide would be on its way back out and there would be lots of waders to be seen out on the exposed mud. It was warm and sunny but there was very little wind meaning that I was able to hear birds calling from quite a distance.
Magpie, Chaffinch, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Great Black Backed Gull, House Martin and Woodpigeon were noted as I walked along the pavement bordering the fenceline looking into the park and watching for any birds overhead. A flock of Canada Geese over Ninewells was a slight surprise - though the birds do spend some time on the Tay/Eden/Montrose Basin etc at this time of year in decent numbers. I spotted a distant bird over the bay and just managed to get enough of a look before it disappeared out of sight behind the hedge line. Another good bird - an Osprey. A Moorhen and a family of Mallards were on the Lochan.
I heard a calling Meadow Pipit and spotted the bird in flight though it was flying east rather than the expected route westwards. Jackdaws and Feral Pigeons were seen flying towards the bay. I decided to have a look into the bay from the bridge over the railway line before scanning from the hide. Cormorant, Curlews, Lapwings, Herring Gulls, Lesser Black Backed Gulls and Black Headed Gulls were spotted relatively easily but the expected Redshanks, Godwits and Dunlin were nowhere to be seen. This wasn't particularly handy for reaching my target figure. The Osprey was seen circling over the bay and I pointed it out to a passing dog walker. As he left the bird dived and caught a fish before heading out of the bay to the southwest.
A Blackbird was seen near the hide and I found a Common Gull among the other gulls in the bay. A Wren was heard but not seen among the overgrown vegetation around the hide. A few Goldfinches flew into the trees behind the hide as I walked back up to the bridge for another look having struggled to see much from the hide. The forward edge of the uncovered mud was already obscured by the bushes and trees to the left. As I was beginning to think I was going to dip on Redshank and Dunlin a Sparrowhawk crossed the bay and disappeared into the trees to the south of the hide. This panicked the unseen wader roost with Redshanks and Lapwings all flying out over the bay. Some settled on the exposed mud allowing me to scan through those I could see from the hide.
Green Veined White and Peacock butterflys were seen around the path from the hide. As I reached the main path I turned in time to see an unexpected Swift flying away towards Invergowrie. I followed the path round to allow me to scan across the mud. A Common Sandpiper was heard and eventually I managed to find it perched out on the pipe. A Coal Tit was heard from the Buddleia bushes behind me but I failed to see it. A Sandwich Tern flew into the bay and well out in the river I found a Goosander near some gulls on the water. A Grey Wagtail called as it flew by as I was chatting to a dog walker who asked what I was counting before chatting about cameras and lenses for a few minutes. A second Osprey was spotted hovering over the river though very distant.
A Red Admiral showed quite well near the toilet and as the tide receded further I finally managed to get a good angle on the birds in the bay. This meant I was finally able to add Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Black Tailed Godwit and Teal. A few Swallows passed overhead. A Reed Bunting and a female and recently fledged Linnet gave reasonable views from among the Buddleia. I moved on again to near the bench overlooking the bay by the bend in the path. In two and a half hours I had barely scratched the surface of the park having focussed on the birds in the bay. A Whitethroat showed nearby before a Grey Heron appeared down at the edge of the bay.
I picked up two small waders flying out over the river and followed them down into the bay where they landed close enough for me to be able to identify them without any difficulty - Ringed Plovers - not a particularly common bird here though they may be overlooked at times. Next I found a Greenshank, another uncommon visitor, feeding along the channel of the burn through the mud. A second Greenshank appeared from below the line of the nearside banking before both birds flew out and landed near the Ringed Plovers. It appeared my luck was quite possibly 'in', given the number of uncommon species I was seeing (Osprey, Greenshank, Canada Geese, Ringed Plover etc).
A Stock Dove flew over as I finally left the bay behind me. A Meadow Brown butterfly flitted along by the path. I failed to add anything new from the top of the hill. A Painted Lady was spotted as I headed down to join the path to the west of the Lochan. Blue Tits were feeding along the hedge-line. A Yellowhammer flew past and a Robin popped out briefly onto the path ahead of me. A Common Darter dragonfly landed on the path long enough for me to identify it (so far the only Dragonfly species recorded in the park, though Common Blue Damselfly is seen quite regularly). Moorhen and Mallard were still the only species on the Lochan. A Dunnock skulked below a pathside bush.
I could hear a calling Bullfinch and eventually managed to see a male hiding among the bushes. A minute or so later the same bird flew out carrying a faecal sac, so I think a Bullfinch nest was the source of the incessant calling that had drawn my attention to the presence of Bullfinch among the bushes. Great Tit, Willow Warbler and a party of Long Tailed Tits were in the bushes and trees around the junction of the path up from the lower half of the park. A small flock of Starlings flew over. A Great Spotted Woodpecker called loudly from within the trees but went silent when I started looking (I suspect it flew off towards Buzzard Wood unseen from my position behind the line of trees).
I stopped to photograph an odd bumblebee mimic Hoverfly species that I'd never seen before -
Eristalis intricaria (a male) on my walk towards the car park. A few more Common Darters and a Painted Lady butterfly were seen before I heard but failed to see a Song Thrush at Buzzard Wood. The path along the front and side there was exceedingly overgrown making seeing any birds very tricky and I failed to add anything new. A quick look for House Sparrows drew a blank as did another attempt at Wren. Checking my list on the phone I could see I had a total of around 50 species but I knew that at least 4 or 5 were heard only, so without a quick way of checking I took a chance that I had made my target and headed for home to check on my PC at home. Nothing new was noted on the way home however.
As it turned out my final total was 54 species at the park. 4 of these were heard only (Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush and Wren) meaning that I had indeed managed to reach my target of 50 species at the park (and 1 extra outside of the park). A nice mixture of birds were seen in just under 6 hours around the park - I supect an earlier start could have given a better chance at the waders in the bay as the tide pushed them in and also potential for Tree Pipit and Pied/White Wagtail passing through on vis-mig. The record of 62 was never under any threat however.
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| Canada Goose |
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| Mallard |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Lapwing |
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| CUrlew |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull & Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Carrion Crow & Jackdaw |
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| Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Great Black Backed Gull & Cormorant |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Redshank & Black Headed Gull |
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| Peacock |
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| Swift |
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| Goosander |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Spider sp. |
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| Linnet |
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| Dunlin |
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| Common Gull |
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| Black Tailed Godwit & Redshank |
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| Teal |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Redshank & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Teal |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Pond Skater sp. |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Curlew |
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| Linnet |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Herring Gull & Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Redshank, Curlew, Black Headed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Osprey |
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| Curlew, Redshank, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Greenshank |
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| Greenshank, Redshank & Ringed Plover |
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| Dunlin |
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| Black Tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Redshank, Dunlin, Herring Gull & Black Headed Gull |
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| Swallow |
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| House Martin |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Feral Pigeon |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Beetle sp. |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Starling |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Meadow Brown |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Magpie |
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Blackbird
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| Eristalis intricaria (male) |
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| Eristalis intricaria (male) |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Species seen outside park - Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Starling, Woodpigeon.
Butterflies seen - GreenVeined White, Meadow Brown, Painted Lady, Peacock, Red Admiral.
Dragonflies seen - Common Darter.
